1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of showcases for collection of sports trophies. More particularly the present invention relates to the field of special frames in different sizes for containing and exhibiting athletic miniatures as well as athletic memorabilia of various sizes in full life size duplicates.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It has been a long-time popular hobby for people to collect sports trophies for preserving memorabilia and recapturing precious moments of great, exciting and historical sports events. In particular, there are many people who collect clothing worn by famous athletes and equipment used in major sports events. For example, many baseball fans collect major league baseball memorabilia such as baseballs, bats, caps, gloves and uniform jerseys. These sports object collections are usually contained in some kind of showcase for both protection and presentation.
A typical sports trophy showcase has a solid wooden frame, a piece of glass, one or several padding pieces and a back panel. A sports object is first affixed to the back panel, then the back panel and the piece of glass are assembled in the frame with one or several padding pieces so that the sports object can be viewed through the glass while protected by the frame against dust or distortion. The frame may be hung on the wall or placed on a stand.
Over the years there are also many people who collect athletic miniatures. One reason people collect athletic miniatures is that the original athletic uniforms are limited and not available to everyone. Athletic miniatures are made exactly like the real athletic objects in every detail, only smaller in size. Some athletic miniatures are even made of the same material as the full-size original. They are contained in customized frames which are similar to the larger frames described above.
The frames for athletic miniatures and other sports memorabilia of various sizes currently used have one disadvantage. Take a miniature of a uniform jersey of a famous athlete for example. The real uniform jersey may have the athlete's name and number printed on the back and the name of the athlete's team printed on the front. To make it look authentic, the miniature jersey also has the same printing on both the front and the back. However when placed inside a frame with only glass on the front side, only the front of the miniature jersey is visible since the back of the miniature jersey is affixed to the back panel of the frame. It is desirable to have a frame for athletic miniatures which not only shows the front, but also the back of the athletic miniatures. It is also desirable to have a frame for full size athletic jerseys which also shows the front and back of the jerseys, and also a compatible frame for larger than regular sized athletic jerseys.